Google Investing $2.5 Billion A Year in Data Centers

Google invested $774 million in its Internet infrastructure in the second quarter of 2012, an increase from $607 million in the previous quarter. Over the last four quarters, Google has invested nearly $2.5 billion in servers and server farms, illustrating the strategic importance of data centers in Google's business.

Google invested $774 million in its Internet infrastructure in the second quarter of 2012, an increase from $607 million in the previous quarter. Over the last four quarters, Google has invested nearly $2.5 billion in servers and mission-critical facilities, illustrating the strategic importance of data centers in Google's business. The company disclosed its latest spending figures in its quarterly earnings report, which was released Thursday afternoon.

Google's capital expenditures fluctuate from quarter to quarter, and the increase in the second quarter is likely tied to the construction of several international data center projects, including three new facilities in three markets in Asia (Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong) and a new data center in Dublin. In the United States, the company has also announced plans to double the size of its data center in Pryor, Oklahoma.

Here's a look at Google's quarter-by-quarter spending on capital expenditures.

1Q 2007: $597 million

2Q 2007: $575 million

3Q 2007: $553 million

4Q 2007: $678 million

1Q 2008: $842 million

2Q 2008: $698 million

3Q 2008: $452 million

4Q 2008:$368 million

1Q 2009: $263 million

2Q 2009: $139 million

3Q 2009: $186 million

4Q2009: $221 million

1Q2010: $239 million

2Q2010: $476 million

3Q2010: $757 million

4Q2010: $2.55 Billion

1Q2011: $890 million

2Q2011: $917 million

3Q2011: $680 million

4Q2011: $951 million

1Q 2012: $607 million

2Q 2012: $774 million

A capital expenditure is an investment in a long-term asset, typically physical assets such as buildings or machinery. Google says the majority of its capital investments are for IT infrastructure, including data enters, servers, and networking equipment. In the past the company's CapEx spending has closely tracked its data center construction projects, each of which requires between $200 million and $600 million in investment.

"We expect to continue to make significant capital expenditures," Google said in its earnings announcement.